Kerala fishermen volunteer to end night time fishing

Kozhikode, Sep 4 (IANS) To prevent depletion of fish resources in the Arabian Sea, an organisation representing the traditional fishermen here has decided not to engage in fishing at night in Kerala’s Kannur and Kozhikode districts.The decision was taken by the Traditional Fishermen’s Protection Council here.

“From Sep 2 we have decided to end night time fishing on a stretch from Pazhayangadi (in Kannur) to Chaliyam (in Kozhikode),” Satheeshan Kooriyadi, president of the council, told IANS Thursday.

He said the fishermen in the region will go for fishing only between 5 a.m. and 6.30 p.m.

The council, having 30,000 members, said it was taking this initiative as no one was coming forward to control unbridled fishing.

“We want to come out with our own initiative before we request the government to introduce some kind of restriction,” Kooriyadi added.

The council said many fish species were facing extinction due to excessive fishing especially by foreign trawlers.

“The mainstay of the traditional fishermen here are the mackerels and sardines. With dwindling fish resources, the new trend among fishermen here is to use nets with small mesh to catch young mackerels and sardines. We are now discouraging our people from using small mesh,” said Kooriyadi.

He said after they took the decision to end night fishing, all the 167 boats in Kozhikode district and 80 boats in Kannur district cooperated with their decision.

Kooriyadi said they are talking to fishermen in the districts of Malappuram and Thrissur to implement the decision regarding night time fishing there.